Theories of Transition in Scientific Systems

Abstract

The transformation of the university and the shift in the university paradigm were embedded in the various theories of change regarding scientific and university systems. The three that have gained the most popularity, or perhaps notoriety, and have paved the way to the entrepreneurial university are as follows:

• A “new model of knowledge production” (Gibbons et al., 1994), including heterogeneity, interdisciplinarity, and networking with an emphasis on collaborative research as well as ties between science and industry

• A thesis about the second “university revolution” (Etzkowitz, 1989, 1996) which underpins the entrepreneurial university

• The “triple-helix model” (Leydesdorff and Etzkowitz, 1998; Etzkowitz, 2011; Etzkowitz, at el., 2012) that argues for the need for mutual cooperation between universities, public authorities, and industry, as well as the thesis of their overlapping activities